Busy Busy Birthday!!

Okay - it's not a 'zero' birthday but almost!! It's still a big number!

I've had so much fun this last week. C,L&L2 were here and the party definitely continued. We told them they couldn't come back for 9 months - that's how long it will take to work off the weight gain from muffins every morning and ice cream - the good stuff - every night!!

We were able to road trip to where a whale was hanging out - Once I get unpacked and caught up I'll sit and post pictures!!

Foggy Morning Mish-Mash!

My August bouquet was Hydrangeas and sunflowers - how fun! Both are big flowers and the delivery gal is a petite little thing - when I opened the door, I couldn't even see her!! The grouping was so big we got 2 bouquets out of it so there's an all sunflower group over in C&Ls condo!

It's a cool foggy morning here. C&L are renting the condo next door and we're having such a great visit. Lots of walks on the beach, grilled dinners and of course, dessert every night!! Got to love vacations!!

One morning it was so foggy that when I followed everyone down to the beach 30 minutes later - I couldn't find them!! Spooky thick fog - where everything looks different and somehow sinister!! Was that giant piece of driftwood always hanging there like that?? [well, yes it was!]

We have so much sand added to the beach that the cave is filled - yep, the cave with a 10 foot ceiling!! So the rocks all look different - cuz you're only seeing the top part of them!

Speaking of rocks - Rock collecting: I love to pick up rocks. It was my biggest activity in Newport. There were lots of agates and fossils on that beach. Here in Brookings, not many agates or fossils that I can spot. But more colorful rocks. I especially like the ones with stripes! I polished rocks for a year and a half. I haven't done that since I moved here. Maybe I'll get back into it, maybe not - we'll see!

Where some collectors only stoop to pick up Jasper, Agates, etc. Well, not me. One day in Newport I had the most fun collecting objects with holes in them!! [I was tying them on stomping sticks and things with friends later that week!]

Yesterday was "O" rock day! Sometimes you don't spot a rock with a natural "O" on it anywhere - and other days, well, you can't avoid them! My friend D from Redding alerted me to "O" rocks, "That Oprah, she's licensing everything nowadays!!" LOL! D has a rock garden in her yard that is dedicated to "O" rocks - so hip!! These "O"s are going home to Arkansas with C&L but they make me think of D also!!




Well, Mr D is off on his great adventure today with his mom and dad. They are traveling to Colorado for J's family wedding and then on to Nebraska to visit A's family. Three weeks on the road with a 3 month old!! Camping when available! YIKES!

And you just know they will pull it off with grace and lots of wonderful memories. Mr D has already camped at a wedding close to home ... and did just fine! The only big question is can Beach Nana [that's me] live without her Mr D fix for that long? That baby is growing like a weed, and we see him just often enough to notice the changes. I swear, grandkids grow as fast as the car commercials show on tv!! Here he is with Beach Papa.




They went swimming since our last visit.




Trying out his chair now that he can hold his head up. Hmmm, was that chain always there?




This week will be jam-packed with trying to see everything in Oregon while our friends are here! LOL! Hopefully, the weather will continue to cooperate - although it's not looking good for today! Oh well, if it's icky out we will just have to sit inside and quilt - or just talk about quilting! Also fun!

Back from Sisters - but moving slow!!

What a gorgeous day it was in the high desert! 80 - 85 degrees and a slight breeze in the afternoon - just enough to wave the quilts as you were trying to take a photo. It was wonderful. And the quilts seemed to be a wider variety of styles this year - I saw the majority of them ... but, even not walking the whole show - I was a broken woman the next morning!!

Eight Stashbusters Online showed up at the library at 10 am. We talked and compared notes for 30-45 minutes and then went off to rejoin the friends and family we came with. We were there from Washington, Minnesota, California, Illinois, Australia (!), and all over Oregon. [that's based on memory - may not be entirely correct!!] Thanks gals! It's always fun to meet in person.



A bus from the Newport Guild came up and I got to walk-about with friends I don't get to see as often. 8 of us actually stayed together the first block! LOL! At one point, I called V on the cell phone trying to find her "I see a sign that says ..." "Yes, I'm standing right next to it!!" LOL! It's a big crowd, that's for sure!



And thanks to C's eagle eye, I was able to meet up with C & M. We were the first 3 stashbusters to meet up at the show 5 yrs ago! We've caught up a few times over the years - this was my 12th time to the Sisters show!! C saw me and had M's cell phone number. I didn't even have M's current email address! - I'd sent her an email but when I didn't get an answer - figured she was away. We ran across each other a few times browsing the show, but met up at 1:30 for a good visit and an ice cream cone!! On a chair! In the shade!! Life is good!



After the show - back to Bend where we were staying along the river. My DD and DSIL joined us on this trip - but without the grandkids. It makes a big difference! The adults were allowed to eat together - not take turns with the kids while the other couple goes out! And of course, you know what we talked about - the grandkids, of course!! Always the case!



The food we had was awesome this year! We went to Amalia's for great Quesadillas; [shredded chicken, grilled fresh mushrooms and wilted spinach!! Yummm!]; Pine Tavern for the best Smoked Salmon salad [with pears, walnuts, blue cheese crumbles and raspberry vinegarette dressing!] and Thai food at Toomies. Needless to say, I needed to get my body to Water Aerobics when I got home - for several reasons!!

And then continuing our "Going to Sisters" grand tour, we stopped at Crater Lake. There is so-o much snow up there still this year! Our favorite picnic area was still under 3-4 feet of snow! We saw a van-load of middle schoolers snowshoe-ing away! And there was the coolest slide of snow off the lodge that still reached the roof! No water scarcity this year - so far. The Rogue River was running high at the viewpoints too!

On to Talent where we stayed with and admired Mr D!! This little guy is all smiles! And so cute - but of course, Nana would say that!!

Pelicans 101!

Today is gorgeous!! Ahhh, now I remember why we love it here! LOL! I got up this am and it was thick, thick fog and I thought - not again!! There, I admitted it! But the fog burned off early and I actually walked down to the beach during low tide.

I've been fighting off this throat thing forever [all right - since Saturday!!] it just seems like forever. R was sick with throat, then cough when Miss P was here. But it seems to be taking a different course with me. So I hadn't been down to the beach since Miss P left.

We've been getting alot of sand swept in. I could see that from looking down on "the well". It's buried and not that long ago it was hip-high! The well is a rock with a deep hole in it - kind of obvious, but sometimes it feels like we're talking in code! But, I wanted to see the 'cave' - R said it was filling in. Two weeks ago, R and Miss P walked thru the cave, R only having to bend over at the other end - now there is no other end - and you'd have to crawl in! Amazing! The ocean changes so fast!

We also woke up to foam on the water today - thick foam that apparently happens in some fish cycle. Don't ask me more than that - I'm from Nebraska!! But it means there's a lot of fish in the water and the pickings are easy. So we have a lot of birds hanging about today. Including a whole group of pelicans - they're simply amazing.

First of all - they look like dinosaurs when they fly - they're all angles. They fly in groups and zoom down close to the surface, gliding, looking like stealth bombers, apparently looking for fish. When they find some, they dive into the water like yard-darts!! But when they sit - they're all curves!! One of life's mysteries!

For the first time today, we've noticed smaller ones in the flock - fledglings?? The information sheet I pulled up on Pelicans says there isn't much 'post-fledgling' care - but apparently there are some fishing lessons!!

They have been fishing in front of the condos all day - so interesting to watch. And there's a 'seagull/chickens clucking' sound!! I've been trying to compare it to something all afternoon - and that's the closest I can come to!!

This all sounds slightly weird - but it's been a really fun day watching them and hearing them and I wish you were all here to share my day!!

I quilted yesterday afternoon on Birds of a Feather. Rick went golfing and I watched "Independence Day" [of course!] and then E.T while stitching away. We had leftover BBQ sandwiches for dinner and saw some of the fireworks from our balcony. All in all, a nice, low-key day.

Happy 4th of July Weekend!!

Well, after our last 'talk' we headed to Portland for R&R with our DD and her family. The adults went to Cirque du Soleil's show and then we spent a few days in Portland before heading back to the coast with Miss P - our 4 yr old DGD.



I just want to show you the awesome pictures my L took of her children. She's so talented and has a gift for catching them. Of course, the kids are very used to posing for her and love to ham it up!! There were a hundred shots of the kids on my camera - I'll just show you my favorites!! Gotta love digital!!







When we left Portland we had both Miss P and Mr M (age 2) in the car. We traveled over to the Newport Aquarium while DSIL trailed behind us; on the ready to bring Mr M back home after. We wanted to see if Mr M would even leave home without a parent!! He did great! Both kids love the aquarium and it's always fun to see their excitement. These few times a year - when we head out with the kids - well, that's when I miss living closer to them!

After lunch and some time at the MacDonald's play area, Mr M and his dad headed back to Portland and Miss P headed for Brookings with us. It's a long ride but we were all 'troopers!' Within 10 minutes of arriving home ... we had all the toys out, had looked out at the ocean with the binoculars and were totally at home!!



Miss P was here for 2 full days and 4 nights ... and they were fun-packed with all of our favorite activities: digging sand on the beach; eating lunch on the patio; reading lots of library books; and a visit to "Kidtown" the Azalea Park playground. Miss P got a child's set of golf clubs this trip, so she also went to the golf course with Papa to hit a few and drive the golf cart around. They saw deer and a new fawn out there - definitely a highlight!

And I'm not saying a little spoiling wasn't being done - here's Miss P's breakfast with strawberries ala Food Network!! LOL! Yep - that's the extent of my 'fancy' meals - cutting up strawberries!



Then off we went to A&J2's so Miss P could meet Mr D and play with the bunnies! Since Miss P is the older sister - she knew what babies were, do I need to point out the real attraction was the bunnies??? LOL! She helped J2 make us blueberry pancakes the morning we were headed back to Portland.




Hasn't Mr D thrived and grown!! He's a smiley baby and lots of fun to cuddle. He was on his first camping trip the weekend before - a wedding - and did great! It's just so amazing to see him grow so fast!!




Sunday we took Miss P to the Broadway tour of "Mary Poppins." We had so much fun! Miss P stayed awake the entire show - despite not sleeping much the night before - and then cried at the end because she didn't want it to be over! I sense she's a 'chip off the old block' of her mom, who dearly loves Broadway and all things theatre.

10 days, count them, with grandchildren!!! Nana was plumb tuckered out!! I pretty much hibernated for the week since we got home. The ocean is eerily quiet{!} after all the ruckus! And while it's always wonderful to see the GKs - it's fun to get back to 'normal' too.

I entered 3 quilts in the Newport show - but Birds of a Feather-ish wasn't one of them. I'm still working on the first border ... so it will make it's debut next show! But I'm bound and determined to work on it everyday and FINISH it this summer. It's been on the UFO list TOO long. I'll let you know!!

I'd love to promise to blog again next weekend - but that's the Sister's Quilt Show weekend and I'm going to be too busy!! LOL! A bunch of Stashbusters are meeting up at the library Saturday morning; a bus is coming with Newport friends and my DD and DSIL will be with us in Bend. DD probably won't come to the show - we'll shop around in Sisters on Friday - while the boys golf. I'll tell you all about it when I get home!

Summertime and still sweatshirt weather!

But of course, it's always sweatshirt weather here - sometimes you have to wear a raincoat over the sweatshirt, so guess I'll be satisfied with what we've got.

Water Aerobics started in our outside pool last Monday. It's a heated pool but weather has been in the 50s when we're in it! It's as close as I get to joining in any Polar Bear events!! Actually, the pool feels great and its fun to drive only 5 minutes to the pool. I drive 45 minutes to get to the Crescent City Pool the rest of the year. Eight am and I've already got a tan - after 4 days, I have suit-lines - even with the morning fog!! It amazes me.



June's flowers came - beautiful full dark red peonies. The bouquets have gotten bigger each month - this one was too big and top-heavy for our glass vase. I put the white flowers in a second vase/mason jar and while the peonies are starting to fade, the white flowers are still going strong.



Our local quilt shop expanded and put in a LongArm machine. You can take a LA lesson, get 'certified' and then be able to rent it and work on your own projects. I am now certified, as compared to certifiable!! I had another quilt UFO in mind for my work session, but switched it out to this flannel kids quilt. 'Brrr-winter' could take an all-over design and was a better '1st' project for me. I free motion quilted it - I'm am terrible at pantographs!!

Let me say - long arm quilters have nothing to worry about with me!! Wow - it's an eye opener to try it yourself! But, this UFO is now off my list and hopefully I'll get over there every month or two to work on another UFO. Lord knows I have enough UFOs to get thru!



Here's my Holiday Challenge again - as I told you, it won 3rd place Viewer's Choice in the Challenge category at the show!! Fun surprise!!



I finally turned the corner on my 'on again, off again' handquilting project - I'm out to the borders on my 'Birds of a Feather.' A BOM from 2006ish! I hate to quilt borders in a hoop - it's all set-up again and again with very little time quilting. So I framed it up and like working on it that way. I put it in the sewing room and as you can see - it barely fits. In fact, you have to squeeze thru to get into the room.



While we're in the sewing room - might as well have a tour!! A closet [stuffed full of quilting stuff] is on your left. The black board on the right is the computer armoir. The design wall is straight ahead, those jungle animals are half the blocks for a quilt for Mr D. It's called Jungle Boogie by Sindy Rodenmayer of Fat Cat Patterns.

The original dimensions are huge. I reduced it to 75% and the giraffe is still 23" tall! And - in case you want to make this - the pattern is not reversed, since I'm using a wonder-under method, my quilt will be backwards. I hate when that happens!!

Moving on - the next blocks on the design wall are Pies and Tarts. My goal is to have all 64 pies made and appliqued to the backgrounds by the end of July when a good friend from ARK is coming to visit. She can consult like nobody's business! I'm counting on her to help me lay it out.

In the basket on the floor is a Grandmother's Flower Garden that has been languishing for years. A church group in Lincoln NE quilted it for me and offered to bind it - I foolishly said "No, thanks." Why, oh why, did I say that??? It's still not bound - but this year .... better be longer than 365 days based on my to-do list for 2011!! LOL! Hope springs eternal!!

Then the wonderful card catalog my daughter gave/lent me for Mother's Day!! On top are various baskets, one of which holds my Sue Spargo 'Journey Tree' project.

I'd love to say that's as messy as it gets - but sadly, no - I had to straighten it up to make room for the frame!! The best I can hope for is 'livable'!!

June has sprung

Last weekend was our Brookings Quilt Show as part of Azalea Festival. The weather was spotty - but that doesn't deter quilters - we're inside!

We had 162 quilts entered and all showed up. I was so glad I entered quilts that were finished - I remember those last hours of sewing against the clock many times other years and delivering quilts that were 'still smoking!'

But I was kept busy by going to work day on Monday before the show; accepting entries for 4 hours on Friday; helping to hang the show Friday night [my favorite part!]; working the show and photographing all the entries on Saturday; and wandering the show before helping with 'take down' Sunday. It seemed it went well - we'll get our report next Monday night.

We were able to sell cookies for the first time in many years - with the strict instructions that none were to be eaten inside the building. So we advertised "Go Bags of cookies" [for New Orleans fans!] And "Cookies to go".

We had everything! And could smell the baked goods right thru the zip-lock bags! I made batches of my rice krispie bars with M&Ms. But there were all the usual suspects plus a new favorite - Cranberry-White Chocolate-Oatmeal cookie. The recipe is on the Craisins Bag of Dried Cranberries! Trust me - awesome!!

One of the best perks of joining a new quilt guild is they haven't seen your quilts yet. Many don't have date restrictions on entries into shows, so you can bring out your old favorites [and see if they hold up to the new standards!] And I'm happy to report they did!



The oldest quilt I entered was the Blazing Star Whole Cloth quilt. I hand quilted this quilt in Lincoln in 1984. [isn't a yearly 'quilts finished' list handy!!!]
I ordered this pattern and was severely disappointed to receive one quarter of the star drawn out!! I, of course, picked fabrics that were too thick to see thru and had to gerry-rig a light box to trace it. Well, by the time I got to lining up the last quarter - it was 1/2" off. I stomped on it - not kidding - sprayed it with Shout and sent it thru the wash a few times. Determined, next I drew out the pattern on newsprint from a roll; [remember those - you got them from the newspaper office and they were Grrr-eat!!' This time I basted it to the fabric so it wouldn't shift; traced it and proceeded to quilt it with contrasting thread. I even made the hanging loops change color so as to match the side that was hanging out AND added an invisible pocket for a small dowel to help it hang perfectly straight!

I still love it. It was made during my 'blue and brown' period! Ha - I can hear friends laughing!! That period lasted about 30 years!! I still love blues and browns - but do work in different colors -on occasion- now!! LOL!



I entered "Lights Along the Coast" the silk-screened lighthouse panels set in a log cabin setting. My DH's admitted favorite quilt of mine! Although he still has "improvement suggestions"!!



I entered "Season's Greetings, Dearie" this year's Brookings Round Robin quilt. I'm pleased to say that 4 of the 5 quilts in our round were done by the show. And they looked mighty fine!! Many thanks to M in Lincoln for long-arming that quilt for me on my visit to Nebraska in April. It turned out so cute and provided me with a relaxing pre-show interval.



You remember "Be Mine", my Holiday Challenge - my foray into 'slow quilting' last winter. I love it - but it didn't do well in the Guild's Challenge Contest. I was surprised that it won a 3rd place Viewer's Choice at the show. Always fun to walk around the corner and find a ribbon on your quilt!

We're headed to Medford this weekend to send the new parents out for an evening while we babysit Mr D! Almost 2 months old now ... wish us luck!!